•••••Third Person's POV•••••

"Why don't you consider killing yourself?" The girl gritted her teeth behind her mask.

Raven, on the other hand, was surprised of what she said. The moment she heard that, it somehow echoed in her mind and ears.

"What do you mean?" Anxiety rushed into her veins as she threw the question at her.

Deep inside, Raven wished she never have said that. The mysterious girl scoffed as she pointed at her mask.

"You really don't recognize me, do you? Some best friend you are." Mas lalo pang kinabahan si Raven sa kanyang narinig.

She had a speculation, but for once in her life, she prayed that her speculation was not true. Her hand started to tremble, so all she could do to stop it was by clenching it.

Blade, however, was also starting to feel nervous for she recognized the way the mysterious girl just spoke. He, too, has a speculation. Like Raven, he also prayed that his speculation was not true.

"Look closely, Raven," she declared.

Dahan-dahang hinawakan ng misteryosong babae ang kanyang maskara. Hanggang sa dahan-dahan niya itong tinanggal. At that time, everything was in slow motion. It was as if the world has stopped rotating. Raven wanted to close her eyes just to avoid looking at the mysterious girl's real face. However, it was something that she could never do.

Nang tuloyan na niyang tinanggal ang kanyang maskara, parang gumuho ang mundo ng lahat ng mga tao na nakatingin sa kanya. Raven dropped the knife she was holding on the floor, and it was like her soul just left her now pale body.

Lahat ng tao, except sa Headmaster at Reo-sensei ay hindi nagulat. Tila, kilala na nila ang babae. However, the one difference was that Reo-sensei never knew who the girl was even if she took off her mask.

"H-How... H-How are you s-still... Alive?" Blade walked like a zombie towards the mysterious girl. His trembling hands reached out to hold her's, and when he did, his eyes widened even more. "Y-You're real... T-This is insane!"

He immediately locked her in his arms. Hindi na rin niya napigilan ang kanyang luha sa pagpatak sa balikat ng babae. Like Blade, Maura also walked like a zombie towards the two. Hinding-hindi rin kayang i-rehistro sa utak niya ang kanyang nasisilayan.

"B-Buhay ka... Buhay ka, Sheena!" Nagulat ang babae sa sinabi ni Blade.

She does not have any plans to pull away from Blade's embrace, but there was no denying the fact that she never expected them to react like that.

"S-Sheena..." Lumapit pa si Maura. She was about to hug her when Sheena decided to pull away.

"I don't need your sympathy," sabi niya sa dalawa.

Si Sniper naman ay marahas niyang nilingon ang Headmaster sabay bulyaw na, "Headmaster, what is this?! Pa'nong buhay si Sheena?!"

The headmaster did not waste his time facing the leader of The Black Diamonds. He just smirked behind his mask and simply said, "Just listen to them."

Sniper was not satisfied by the headmaster's answer. However, he still did what he was told even though he was very anxious deep inside.

"Sheena, bumalik ka para sa amin, 'di ba? You're still that Sheena, our friend, aren't you?" Blade could not believe the joy he was feeling inside.

Hindi siya makapaniwala na nakatayo na si Sheena sa harapan nila. Si Maura naman, iyak na iyak sa gilid ni Blade.

"P-Pa'no ka nabuhay, Sheena? H-How did you escape from Rin?" Kaagad na nanggigil si Sheena sa natanggap na tanong galing kay Maura.

"Don't mention that girl's name right in front of me... Isa siyang traydor na kaibigan!" Sheena clenched her fist dahil kating-kati na itong pumatay ng kahit sino na hahadlang sa kanya.

"Totoo ba, Sheena? Totoo ba na buhay si Rin?" Maura did not feel any joy inside of her. In fact, she was anxious as hell.

Desperada na siyang malaman ang totoo. Seeing Sheena alive and well right in front of them made her smell something so fishy. Feeling niya hindi na ang Sheena na kilala nila noon ang nasa harapan nila.

"Maura, what are you doing?" Blade turned to face Maura beside him. "Sheena's here, don't make her remember that traitor. Besides, wala naman tayong pakealam kung buhay o patay na ba si Rin, e."

"I'm aware of that, Blade!" He was taken aback when Maura suddenly raised her voice at him. "Pero hindi mo ba naisip kung bakit ngayon nasa harapan natin si Sheena when it was beyond crystal clear in our eyes kung paano ibinaon ni Rin ang isang napakatulis na kutsilyo sa puso niya?!"

Natahimik naman si Blade sa kanyang narinig. Marahas na nilingon ni Maura si Sheena na seryoso lang nakatingin sa kanilang dalawa.

"Magsabi ka nga ng totoo sa'min. Paano ka ba nabuhay, ha? Are you really still the same Sheena that we knew?" Tinuro niya ang Headmaster na nasa likuran ni Sheena. "Dahil kung totoong kakampi ka ng taong 'yan, I doubt everything you said."

At that moment, Maura never felt a single fear. She was crying, yes. But the courage she had in herself was even greater than the sadness she felt.

Biglang tumawa ng malakas si Sheena, kaya nagtaka si Maura kung bakit ganoon ang reaksyon niya.

"Of course, this is me. May iba pa ba? I'm the Sheena Cruz that you knew and know," sabi niya. "at kung gusto niyong malaman kung buhay ba si Rin, ba't 'di niyo tanungin ang babaeng iyan?"

She pointed at the girl behind Blade kaya napatingin na naman ang lahat sa kanya. Nanlaki naman ang mga mata ni Maura, lalong-lalo na si Blade dahil hindi niya inakala na may alam pala ang taong tinitingnan nila ngayon.

"R-Raven? M-May alam ka tungkol kay R-Rin?" Nasa lupa lang ang mga tingin ni Raven, at wala siyang balak na tingnan ang kanyang mga kaibigan deretso sa kanilang mga mata. Blade came closer to her and placed his hands on top of her shoudlers. "R-Raven, answer us. Kilala mo ba si Rin?"

Raven did not move a muscle. She does not want to answer their questions.

"Si Raven?" Kumunot ang noo ni Maura at marahas na nilingon ulit si Sheena na nakangisi lang. "Pa'no siya nasali sa usapan, ha? How do you fucking exactly expect an innocent girl like her to know?!"

Tumawa ng malakas si Sheena habang pinagmasdan ang namumulang mukha ni Maura dahil sa galit at panggigigil nito.

"Every since we were children, I rarely hear you cuss, Maura. It's so unlike you. You must be pretty desperate."

"Damn right, I am."

"May mga mata at taenga ka naman, 'di ba? Ba't 'di ka na lang manood at makinig sa lahat ng mga sasabihin ng inosenteng Raven na 'yan?"

Even if Maura wanted to get her hands on Sheena, she had a point. She has to know the answer. On the other hand, hindi pa rin sumagot si Raven sa tanong ni Blade na mukhang mas desperado pa kaysa kay Maura.

"Raven, please, sagutin mo kami." Hindi pa rin siya gumagalaw kahit na nagmakaawa na si Blade sa kanya.

It was as if Raven has became a soulless person. She was not trembling in anxiety nor fear. However, her white skin has turned even whiter.

"Ayaw mo ba talaga silang sagutin..." Nagsimula ng manggigil si Sheena habang pinagmasdan si Raven na hindi pa rin gumagalaw at parang walang balak na sumagot sa mga tanong na kanyang natanggap. She clenched her fists tighter dahilan upang dumugo ito. "Ayaw mo ba talaga silang sagutin, ha, Rin?!"

To everyone who has heard what Sheena just said, it was as if their world crumbled. Hiniling nila sa kanilang mga isipan na sana ay hindi totoo ang narinig nila.

"W-Wait a minute, ano bang pinagsasasabi mo?" Nagtaka rin si Reo-sensei sa kanyang narinig dahil kagaya ng lahat, hindi niya inakala iyon. "Si Raven at si Rin ay iisa? As far as I know, isn't Rin a member of the royal family, the 'Kurodas'?"

"Finally, someone has did his homework." He faced the headmaster who clapped his hands in sarcasm. "Good job, Reo-sensei. You really are worthy of your position."

"This is not a good joke, Headmaster. Hindi na ito kagaya ng isang normal na palabas."

"For me, it is. Though, I'm quite surprised na natandaan at nakilala mo kaagad si Rin," the headmaster said.

Reo-sensei eyed him closely and said, "I heard it from my master before."

"Your master, huh?" The headmaster has a hunch who he was referring to, but he refused to say anything more.

Meanwhile, Blade's hands on Raven's shoulders started to shiver even more, to the point that he could not even feel them. Maura, however, her knees gave out because of what she just heard. She could not believe it. No one just could.

"H-Hindi... I-Imposible, hindi pwedeng ikaw si Rin! H-Hindi pwede ikaw at ang t-traydor na 'yon ay iisa!" Blade was exclaiming right in front of Raven as he started to shake her body. "R-Raven, please, m-magsalita k—"

"Shut up!" Biglang tinulak ng malakas ni Raven si Blade kaya napatalsik ito hindi malayo sa kanya. "N-No... I-It can't be... S-Someone else killed you... T-That person was w-wearing clothes with Blandon High's logo on it. It w-wasn't me!"

She was freaking the hell out, at marahas siyang napahawak sa kanyang ulo.

"I'll make your life even more miserable, Raven. Only you deserves a miserable life," Sheena said in her mind.

"H-Hindi! Y-You can't be her!" Patuloy pa rin siyang nag-hi-hysterical, kaya mas lalo pang natuwa si Sheena sa kanyang nakita.

"Iisa lang pala ang kaibigan na tinutukoy niya at ang kaibigan na tinutukoy ko sa kanya noon?" Blade was in utter shock. "Putangina! Kaya pala masyadong similar ang pangyayari!"

Kulang na lang ay susuntukin na sana ni Blade ang kanyang sarili nang bigla na lang magsalita si Sheena.

"Truth hurts, Raven, accept it. Ang unfair naman kung magiging masaya ka kasama sila Blade, Maura, at Hades. Ang unfair naman na ituring mo silang kaibigan na kung tutuosin, hindi mo rin sila makikilala kung hindi dahil sa akin!" Raven looked at her, and Sheena gritted her teeth even more when she met with Raven's magenta eyes again. "Everything about you destroyed my life, Raven... Ikaw ang dahilan ng lahat ng pagdurusa ko... Sinira mo ako!"

Raven was in consternation. She could not utter a single word. If she was suffering in that state, mas lalo pa ang mga kaibigan niya. Blade could not look at her in the eyes anymore. Ayaw niyang magalit kay Raven. But if Raven's Rin, then he can never just drive his anger towards her away for killing Sheena.

"N-No... T-This is just a n-nightmare..." Nagulat silang lahat ng biglang naging visible ang aura ni Raven sa kanilang mga mata.

A strange, glowing purple aura has started to envelope her entire body. Raven was still holding her head and was still freaking out. She had no idea what she was doing anymore.

"Raven!" Sinubukang lumapit ni Reo-sensei sa kanya, pero hindi niya kaya dahil itinutulak siya ng aura nito palayo. "Dammit, I can't get too close! It's as if the purple glowing light ... No, her energy level has increased, and I can't get too close!"

Kaagad na nakaramdam ng galit si Sniper sa nakikita niya. He hurriedly went straight to the headmaster. John and Nicka tried to stop him, but he was unstoppable at the moment.

"Headmaster," Nagulat ang lahat ng mga kasamahan ni Sniper nang marahas niyang kinuwelyuhan ang kanilang headmaster. "I'm damn well convinced that she's Rin. I had my suspicions since the day I met her. She's the fucking princess, but hahayaan mo na lang ba talaga na mangyari ito sa harap ng mga mata mo? That thing would come out, at sa lahat ng mga tao dito, ikaw ang mas nakakaalam no'n! Sigurado ka na ba talaga na hahayaan mo itong mangyari sa sarili mong pamangkin?!"

Everyone's heartbeat seemed to stop when they heard what Sniper just exclaimed. Even Raven who was almost out of her mind heard that. That somehow managed to calm her down a bit and diverted her attention to both Sniper and the headmaster.

"P-President Sniper, anong pinagsasabi mo?" Nagtatakang tanong ni John.

"S-Sinong pamangkin a-ang sinasabi mo, Sniper?" Blade's voice was cold, but it was still apparent that he was flabbergasted, too.

Tinanggal ng Headmaster ang kamay ni Sniper sa kanyang kuwelyo at inayos ito.

"You people are inconsequential," sabi nito nang matapos na niyang ayusin ang kanyang kuwelyo. Pagkatapos ay dahan-dahan niyang tinanggal ang maskara na kanyang suot.

"I-Imposible... I-Ikaw si..." Hindi na naman makapaniwala ang lahat sa kanilang nasaksihan, especially to Blade and Maura because they knew more than anyone else who the person behind the headmaster's mask all this time. "I-Ikaw ang kapatid ng master ko."

Kinuyom ni Reo-sensei ang kanyang mga kamao nang lumabas sa kanyang bibig ang mga salitang iyon.

"You imbecile, anong ginawa mo sa dating headmaster?!"

"Calm down, Reo-sensei, calm down. Alam mo ba kung gaano kahirap ang magpanggap after all this time?" Ngumisi ang Headmaster. Ramdam na ramdam na niya ang hangin na dumadampi sa kanyang balat. "The previous headmaster was an absolute weakling. He was nothing but talk. Hindi ko lubos na maintindihan kung bakit niyo ginawa ang isang walang silbing nilalang na 'yon bilang isang headmaster dito sa Blandon High."

"Just answer my goddamn question! What the hell did you do to the previous headmaster?!" Reo-sensei could not take his anger even more.

"Oh, aren't you a bit relentless to know?" Mas lalo pang ngumisi ang Headmaster nang makita ang galit sa mga mata ni Reo-sensei. "Let's just say... I sent him to oblivion. Only, unlike what Hades' said, he's not alive."

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Reo-sensei nang marinig ang kanyang sinabi. The previous headmaster was his very close friend. They were both trained under the same master.

"All of you know nothing about the importance of each person's existence. The strong will rise, and the weak must be eliminated," he said as he averted his gaze from the shivering Reo-sensei and walked towards Sheena. He placed his hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Take this young girl, for example. I saved her when she was on the brink of death. She has potential and is a strong girl, the reason why she lived her life up until now."

"Y-You animal... Ba't ka pa nagpakita sa amin, ha?" bulyaw ni Maura nang magtampo ang kanilang mga mata. "Lumayo na kami matapos mawala ang mga kaibigan namin. We didn't want to involve anymore in you and the whole Kurodas' goddamn business, pero bakit ka ba nagpakita ulit sa amin, ha, Tito?"

"Do you know about this already, Sniper?" Blade gritted his teeth as he glared daggers at Sniper.

"So, what if I am? May magagawa ka ba?"

"You asshole!"

"My, my, you two are really grown-ups now, Maura, Blade," The headmaster smiled at the both of them. "After all the days that have passed, thank you so much for taking care of my precious niece since day one."

Nagkatinginan naman si Maura at Blade. Sheena was just silent the whole time. The headmaster averted his gaze from the two and looked at Raven who was also silent the whole time.

"Nice to see you healthy, my dear Rin."

"I don't know you, so don't address me like you've known me for a long time," Raven said with her cold voice.

Napatawa naman ulit ng malakas ang Headmaster dahil sa sinabi ni Raven sa kanya.

"Oh, I know damn well everything about you, Ri—"

"That's not my fucking name, so stop calling me that!" Once again, the light, purple aura engulfed her entire body again.

Her eyes were full of nothing else but rage. Raven was not in her right mind anymore after hearing all the impossible things she could ever hear.

"Yes, that's it. Show me your real power. Show me how much stronger you've grown," the headmaster whispered, and Sheena was the only one who heard it.

Lahat ng tao, maliban kay Sheena at ng Headmaster ay napaatras palayo kay Raven dahil tinutulak sila palayo ng ekstraordinaryong lakas ng aura niya. Not just that, her energy level has increased rapidly again, so they were all really having a hard time to move.

"T-This power... I-It's mind-boggling!" Nicka could not fully comprehend what she saw and how her feelings were anymore. She was not quite sure.

"D-Dammit, we just made her even more a-angry!" Sniper took a step back as he could not bear looking at Raven slowly devouring by anger.

Sa kanilang lahat, walang kumilos. Ang headmaster at si Sheena ay nag-enjoy lang panoorin si Raven na unti-unti ng nilalamon ng kanyang galit. Hanggang sa biglang may nagtangkang pigilan siya.

"Raven, stop it!" Out of nowhere, Hades appeared only a few inches away from Raven.

"That fool, is he going to get himself killed?" The headmaster was surprised.

Even with Hades right in front of her, Raven still did not stop as if she has not seen Hades standing in front of her. Since Raven's aura was way stronger than anything else, Hades never let it a hindrance to walk towards her.

"Raven, you got to stop this now!" Even when he was struggling, Hades was still able to successfully place both of his hands on Raven's shoulders. "Raven, listen to me. If you don't stop this now, you'll kill the people you care about!"

She tried to shake Raven's entire body, hoping it might snap her back to reality. But to no avail. Napa-'tsk' na lang si Hades at walang pasabing kinuha ang isang baril sa kaniyang bulsa. He abruptly pointed it at Raven.

"I'm sorry, but I have no other choice but to do this."

Nanlaki ang mga mata ng Headmaster nang maramdaman niya na parang may mali sa baril ni Hades.

"N-No, 'wag mong gawin 'yan, Hades!"

Hades did not listen to the headmaster and just aimed the gun at Raven's right shoulder.

"Come back to me," he said and pulled the trigger in the blink of an eye.

Kaagad na napasigaw ng malakas si Raven sa sakit. Nagsimula na siyang ma-out of balance, pero bago pa man siya tuloyang bumagsak sa sahig ay nasalo na siya ni Hades.

The purple light that was engulfing all over her body started to fade, and everyone around them was in major consternation.

"H-Hades..." Napa-ubo si Raven ng dugo at dahil dito, biglang nanggigil ang Headmaster nang makarating ang amoy ng dugo sa kanya.

"Don't worry, I got you. Just leave everything to me," he assured her, then turned to face everyone who were wearing complex faces. But aside from meeting all of their gazes, he eyeballed the headmaster for he was starting to feel infuriated. "You'll pay for what you've done. You'll never get Raven."

"Where are you taking her, Hades?" tanong ni Reo-sensei sa kanya.

"No one else has to know, Sensei."

"Hades, you don't have to do this. I command you!" Nakaramdam na ng galit ang Headmaster dahil sa ginawang interruption ni Hades upang makita niya ang kapangyarihan ni Raven.

Hades continued to look daggers at him that infuriated him even more.

"As for you, I don't take orders from you anymore. Approximately two days from now, all of you, prepare yourselves," he said and extended his hand to point it at the headmaster. "lalong-lalo na ikaw. Mali ka ng demonyong binangga."

Matapos niyang sabihin iyon ay bigla na lang siyang nawala sa mga mata nilang lahat.

Everyone did not say a word due to extreme shock, fear, and anxiety. Sheena was standing still, however, the headmaster's emotions were mixed up. He was excited and anxious at the same time.

A smirk formed right across his face as he mumbled, "At last, I'll see you again... Hashira."